Navigating Age Bias

[00:00:03] This episode is powered by a specialized recruiting group in Livonia, helping businesses find top-tier talent and professionals land their next big opportunity. Welcome to Ghosted by the Machine, the podcast where job seekers break through the algorithm and finally get heard. I'm your host, Mark Lane, and today we're talking with someone who recently made it through the job journey that many professionals know all too well. Finding your way back into the workforce after an unexpected job loss.

[00:00:29] Gary Shifflett has spent more than 20 years as a senior media and experiential producer creating events, productions, and experiences that bring brands and audiences together. Recently, Gary found himself back in the job market navigating a hiring process that has changed dramatically over the years. But today, Gary has landed on the other side of the journey as the Director of Sales and Events for OSS Detroit, and he's here to share what that experience was really like. Gary, welcome to Ghosted by the Machine. Thanks, Mark. What's going on?

[00:00:58] Well, Gary, it's been a busy day, and I'm so glad you could join us on the show. But let's start here. Losing a job can shake a lot more than you deserve. Shake it, baby. Shake it. It can affect your confidence, your routine, and even how you see yourself. When you first realize you're back in the job market after all those years, what was going through your mind? Shock, as I was not ready to retire and had no intention of going down that path for at least another year or two.

[00:01:23] That hand was forced, and so the job began trying to find something else because I was not done. So you've been a senior media and experiential producer for more than 20 years. You find yourself back in the job market. What has surprised you most about how the hiring process works today? Well, what's really disappointing is when your job description you're going after reads like your resume time and time and time again, and you get nothing back, it's pretty disheartening. A lot of frustration.

[00:01:54] My friends here at OSS, when I let them know that I was released in November, instead of being sad for me, they were going, Oh, that's great. When can you start? Which was nice because I didn't see that one coming, and that was based on a relationship for sure. I mean, I've been using these guys for almost 30 years, actually. But the reality was, you know, I couldn't start until January, and it was November, so I still had to go through two months of the job search process for unemployment and things like that.

[00:02:18] Man, I went through so much deep diving for work and applications and updating my resume to customize it for the job description. And then just nothing. It was like ghosting, like you said. It's just no responses at all. About three weeks into the process, I talked to a counselor at the unemployment office, and they basically said, You know, you have a lot of dates. You have a lot of jobs in your history showing on your resume. She goes, That lets them know how old you are. We should do something about that.

[00:02:47] So we went through and took out my last several job descriptions before my last most recent ones, and then got rid of all the dates, and the dates were everywhere, you know. And so it didn't take a mathematician to realize how old I was, which I didn't even think about that. But the reality is, is that was the thing, I think, that were triggering, like, the AI bots at all the companies that I was reaching out to. And really, they were just kicking them out and saying, Eh, this guy's too old. Next, you know. But they don't even give you, like, a feedback or anything.

[00:03:16] They just, like I said, they ghost you, you know, and it's pretty hard to live with. Yeah, it hurts your mental state. And, you know, you've been doing this for a long time. And it's like, wait, do I fit anymore? Am I now the square peg in a round hole? No kidding. Well, I mean, I've always thought, you know, until you find somebody who can do it better than me that's younger, I should have job security, but apparently that wasn't the case. But, you know, I've had a lot of experience that a younger person doesn't have, you know.

[00:03:42] And I would have been happy coming in as a, you know, a senior person in a company. And knowing I had a couple years left, I could mentor, you know, I could do a lot of things to help, you know, develop people in the process that, you know, could take over when I was done. But never got that opportunity. So one thing we hear a lot about on this show is how tough it is for experienced professionals. Now, did you ever feel like your age or experience became a hurdle during the process? I know you changed all your dates. Right.

[00:04:09] Even having interviews or wading through all these job opportunities. Well, I kind of feel like that was the main, you know, blockade was really the age thing. You know, on the bottom of every application you put in, they say, we do not discriminate for age, sex, religious orientation, all that stuff. And I'm calling BS because that's exactly what happened. I mean, honestly, there's no reason with my qualifications and resume and background experience, all the things where I shouldn't have at least gotten a callback or two.

[00:04:37] But it was nothing, just nothing. Right. That's pretty disheartening. Well, it's a whole new world with AI. You know, it's a whole new world like the song. Did you end up using AI during your search? And did it actually help you navigate this process? I didn't actually, except for a couple of paragraphs of copy in my resume that just needed to have a little fresher feel to them. You know, and again, after doing that, I felt pretty good about it. It didn't change much, but it definitely changed the tone of it.

[00:05:06] It felt a little bit more progressive, if you will. A little more buzzwords, a little less, you know, old stuff. You know what I mean? So I had not having used my resume for like the last 11, wasn't really ready for it. So just doing a quick brush up on the resume, updating job history and things like that, and putting that out in the world. Yeah, nothing. The AI bots ate it up. So I had to do something.

[00:05:31] But really, even after I did it, I mean, I went through, what, three weeks more of job searches. And again, nothing. So I didn't, I don't think it really mattered. I think the bottom line was it was, I was prejudiced against it because of my age. And I got for relationships because that's why I'm working today, you know. I always ask job seekers, is there something on their resume that, or something outside of the resume that could be their superpower? It sounds like your superpower was your network.

[00:06:27] Yeah, absolutely. Somebody coming up through the system doesn't have, he doesn't have the little black book. He doesn't have all these contacts. And in a pinch where, oh, I need a guy in St. Louis. I got a guy. You need a guy in, you know, Vegas. Oh, I got several guys. You know, it's like, I can be a huge resource in those situations, you know. But to try to find a new job with that, not so much. Right. Well, as you know, I've learned over the last year is that networking is the biggest thing.

[00:06:56] It really is. And having that network and that support group during the process, during the mental anguish of getting that feedback. Exactly. Or the ghosting, you need that too. You know, the nice thing was, you know, when I first started here, I had like two weeks of just going through my phone and reconnecting with people I hadn't talked to in a couple of years or a lot of years. And it was really nice to refresh in the network and everything.

[00:07:21] And obviously, I've been using LinkedIn, which has been a tremendous tool for me because it's really kind of focused me into the, you know, the event services business and all the people that are connecting on LinkedIn that I am now in their network and a regular contributor. And it's been great. I've met several people that really feel like, you know, potential collaborators for this live event stuff that I'm selling, you know, gear and equipment and gear equipment and people for. You know, locally and nationally because we travel all the time.

[00:07:51] So now that you've landed this new role and you look back at the whole journey, what would you say to someone who's in the middle of that search right now and feeling stuck? Well, feeling stuck is kind of the status quo now. What you've got to do is not lose the faith and just, you know, fight the good fight. I mean, there's a ton of opportunities out there.

[00:08:10] And you really do just have to go through the process and weeding them out, applying to them, you know, putting your best foot forward and hoping that, you know, the AI bots don't kick you out because there's so many good people out there looking for work. There's tons of work posted all over the place on social media and, you know, job boards and things. It's just a matter of connecting the dots and getting a second look and at least getting an interview. I mean, you make your own way with an interview.

[00:08:36] If you can sit down, talk to somebody and look them in the eye and have an honest conversation with them and, you know, let them know who you are, what you're all about and what you want to bring to this new position. That's all you can do. And you've got to hope the rest just kind of falls into place. Well, Gary, thank you so much for sharing your story and reminding people that there's a path forward even when the process feels uncertain and you've hit that proverbial brick wall. Yeah. And if you're watching or listening and thinking, hey, that sounds like what I'm going through, you're not alone.

[00:09:04] If you want to share your story on the show, email me or send me a DM. And if you want to stay plugged into the real stories, real insights and real humans behind today's hiring system, make sure to follow and subscribe for new episodes, shorts and conversations every week. And if your organization believes in making hiring more human and wants to support conversations like this, we're currently opening up a few sponsorship spots. So feel free to reach out. I'm Mark Lane and this is Ghosted by the Machine because behind every application, there's a human. Let's make hiring human again.

[00:09:34] Gary, thanks again, my friend. You are very welcome. Glad to do this. This was good for the soul today.